^^^"^^^     ^'^%, 


PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


She//. 


J   ■A<:^.  «■   '  . 

BX  9225 

.S83  F7 

Frazer,  David  R. 

Memorial 

Jonathan 

F. 

Stearns 

,  D.D. 

Moss  i'i^C   (^  A  K 


Drltmoviat^ 


Jonathan  F.  Stearns,  D.  D 


A  SERMON, 

Delivered  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church, 
Newark,  N.  J.,   Dec.  ist,  1889, 

BY  THE  PASTOR, 

/ 

REV.  DAVID  R.  FRAZER,  D.  D. 


21)  Samuel  III :   t,S. 

**  /\/i07i>  yc  nol  thai  tJicrc  is  a  prince  and  a  great  man 
fallen  this  day  in  Israel?  " 

A  Prince  indeed,  although  no  crowned  sovereign 
ever  placed  upon  his  breast  the  star  or  the  ribbon  which 
serves  as  the  patent  of  that  nobility  which  is  *'of  the 
earth,  earthy." 

A  great  man  indeed,  but  his  greatness  was  not  after 
human  ideals,  it  was  the  outcome  of  that  consecration 
which  seeks  the  highest  glory  of  God  and  the  highest 
good  of  man  as  the  ultimate  achievement. 

"  That  man  is  great,  and  he  alone, 
Who  serves  a  greatness,  not  his  own. 

For  neither  praise  nor  pelf: 
Content  to  know  and  be  unknown, 
Whole  in  himself." 

Construed  by  this  standard  we  can  truly  say,  a 
princely  man  has  fallen  in  the  midst  of  us,  and  can 
profitably  devote  this  hour  to  the  study  of  the  charac- 
ter and  the  career  of  our  beloved  and  departed  P^istor 
Emeritus. 

There  is  great  danger,  in  speaking  of  those  whom 


we  have  known  and  loved  and  buried,  of  transgressing 
the  bounds  of  a  sober  judgment  and  of  transforming 
the  simple  memorial  into  the  high  sounding  panegyric. 
Than  this,  nothing  could  be  more  distasteful  to  our 
departed  Pastor,  hence  I  shall  merely  trace  some  of 
the  more  prominent  features  of  his  life  and  leave  your 
own  love  for  the  man  to  supply  the  many  omissions  of 
the  speaker. 

Jonathan  French  Stearns  was  born  at  Bedford, 
Mass.,  on  September  the  fourth,  1808.  Although 
character  is  a  growth,  the  qualities  which  underlie 
character  are  received  by  inheritance,  hence  there  is 
much  in  every  man's  life  that  is  directly  traceable  to 
his  ancestry.  In  this  respect  Dr.  Stearns  was  pecuHar- 
ly  favored.  He  ''sprung",  as  Dr.  Oliver  Wendell 
Holmes  in  his  poem  ''The  School  Boy"  affirms  con- 
cerning Dr.  Samuel  Stearns,  formerly  Pastor  of  the 
Old  South  Church,  Boston,  and  brother  of  our  Dr. 
Stearns,  he 

"  Sprung  from  a  saintly  race,  that  never  could, 
From  youth  to  age,  be  anything  but  good." 

His  father,  his  grandfather,  his  great-grandfather  on 
the  paternal  side  and  his  grandfather  on  the  maternal 


5 

were  Ministers  of  the  Gospel,  hence  the  poetic  saintli- 
ness  of  descent,  which  seems  to  savor  of  exaggeration, 
is  Hterally  verified  by  the  facts  of  history. 

He  was  one  of  thirteen  children  born  to  the  Rev. 
Samuel  and  Abigail  French  Stearns.  Eleven  of  these 
reached  mature  years,  four  of  the  sons  entered  the  Gos- 
pel Ministry  and,  at  least  on  one  occasion,  the  eleven 
children  were  permitted  to  sit  with  their  honored  par- 
ents around  the  table  of  the  Lord. 

When  our  Dr.  Stearns  was  only  six  days  old,  his 
maternal  grandfather,  for  whom  he  was  named,  wrote 
to  his  father,  as  follows  : 

'•Andover,  September  loth,  1808. 
My  Dear  Son: 

''  I  cannot  find  anything  I  have  written  upon  the  Covenant  of 
Redemption  as  distinct  from  the  Covenant  of  Grace.  Mr.  Charnock 
in  the  second  vohune  of  his  works,  page  186  and  on,  has  something 
upon  it.  But  1  liave  no  time  to  extract  or  to  give  you  the  summary. 
I  therefore  send  you  the  volume.  Whether  you  will  obtain  any 
more  satisfaction  from  it  than  from  Gill,  I  know  not  Had  I  time 
to  hunt  I  am  persuaded  I  could  find  more  upon  it. 

"  Give  my  love  to  my  dear  daughter  and  to  all  the  grandchildren, 
in  particular  to  Master  Stearns  t//e  yoinixcr,  and  to  all. 
"In  too  much  haste,  I  am, 

Your  affectionate  father, 

JoNA  French." 


In  commenting  on  this,  Dr.  Austin  Scott,  his  son- 
in-law,  says:  ''This  letter  thus  passes  as  it  were  above 
his  cradle.  It  shews  that  the  first  breaths  he  drew 
were  of  an  atmosphere  full  of  theology  and  a  theology 
which  made  much  of  Redemption,  of  Grace  and  of  the 
Covenants.  Charnock's  works,  and  no  doubt  the 
identical  volume  to  which  reference  is  here  made, 
were  found  among  Dr.  Stearns'  books  in  the  room 
in  which  he  died.  Thus  his  first  breaths  and  his  last 
were,  in  some  sort,  of  the  same  sweet  air,  giving  unity 
and  consistency  to  his  fife." 

His  father  was  Pastor  of  the  Bedford  Congregational 
Church  for  thirty-seven  years,  his  only  charge.  The 
limited  income  from  this  rural  parish  necessitated  the 
most  rigid  economy  in  the  uprearing  of  so  large  a  fam- 
ily, yet  the  intelligence,  the  refinement  and  the  religion 
of  that  New  England  parsonage  so  moulded  the  char- 
acter, formed  the  tastes  and  fashioned  the  life  of  the 
growing  boy  that  our  beloved  Pastor  made  manifest, 
throughout  all  his  days,  the  blessed  influences  of  that 
home  in  his  habits  of  thought,  his  forms  of  speech  and 
his  modes  of  action.  So  fondly  attached  was  he  to 
the  home  of  his  childhood  that,  in  the  later  years,  he 
was  wont  to  visit  Bedford  annually,  on  his  summer 
vacations.     In  his  early  boyhood  he  attended  the  dis- 


trict  school  of  the  village  and  continued  to  do  so  until 
he  was  sufficiently  advanced  to  enter  Phillips  Academy, 
at  Andover,  where  he  was  fitted  for  college.  While  at 
the  Academy,  he,  in  conjunction  with  Horatio  B. 
Hackett,  Ray  Palmer  and  others,  organized  the  Philo- 
mathean  Society.  With  a  pride,  which  was  alike 
legitimate  and  commendable,  he  boasted  that  with  his 
own  hands  he  earned  the  money  which  paid  for  his 
first  Latin  grammar. 

In  1826  he  entered  Harvard  College  where  he  was 
associated  with  two  of  his  brothers  (his  father  having 
sons  in  that  institution  for  eleven  consecutive  years) 
and  with  others,  who,  attaining  great  eminence  in  after 
life,  were  his  devoted  friends.  The  Hon.  Charles 
Sumner  was,  for  a  part  of  the  course,  not  only  his  class- 
mate but  also  his  room-mate.  The  cordiality  with 
which  the  distinguished  Senator  greeted  his  old  college 
friend  on  the  occasion  of  a  visit  to  Newark  abides 
among  the  traditions  of  the  city. 

The  expenses  of  his  collegiate  course  were  largely 
met  by  his  own  exertions.  To  secure  the  necessary 
funds  he  taught  in  the  country  schools  during  vacation 
and  was  not  infrequently  compelled  to  trench  some- 
what upon  term  time ;  he  served  as  private  tutor  to 
students  needing  such  help,  the  most  notable  among 


8 


these  to  whom  he  sustained  this  relation  was  Amos 
Lawrence,  who  cherished  a  Hfe-long  affection  for  him, 
and  he  also  assisted  Wm.  H.  Prescott  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  his  Hfe  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  by  translating 
Spanish  manuscripts  for  him.  In  reverting  to  his  col- 
lege hfe,  he  was  wont  to  speak,  with  a  glowing 
enthusiasm,  of  ''  The  Nine  ",  a  literary  society  of  which 
he  and  Charles  Sumner  were  founders.  Just  prior  to 
his  graduation  in  1830,  he  was  informed  by  Josiah 
Quincy,  the  President  of  the  College,  that  he  was  to 
have  the  first  place  in  his  class,  but,  for  some  reason, 
that  honor  was  given  to  another  and  he  was  assigned 
the  second  position. 

His  theological  studies  were  pursued  partly  in  An- 
dover  Seminary  and  partly  in  private  study  under  the 
direction  of  his  father  and  his  elder  brother,  William. 
He  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the  Woburn  Congrega- 
tional Association  of  Mass.,  in  October,  1834,  and  was 
ordained  and  installed  Pastor  of  The  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Newburyport,  Mass.,  beneath  whose  pulpit 
rests  all  that  is  mortal  of  the  immortal  Whitefield,  on 
September  i6th,  1835,  by  the  Presbytery  of  London- 
derry. During  this  pastorate,  which  continued  for 
fourteen  years,  Dr.  Stearns  made  for  himself  a  well 
deser\^ed   and   enviable  reputation  as  a  preacher  and 


0 

became  known  to  the  denomination  at  lar^e  by  an  ad- 
mirable address  made  in  the  General  Assembly  of  1836, 
on  the  occasion  of  the  trial  of  Rev.  Albert  Barnes. 
The  high  esteem  in  which  the  young  Pastor  was  held 
by  his  parishioners  and  neighbors  is  attested  by  the  fact 
that  he  was  chosen  to  deliver  the  address  at  the  dedi- 
cation of  the  Oak  Hill  Cemetery,  on  July  21st,  1842, 
on  which  occasion  he  pronounced  a  finished  and  classi- 
cal oration  on  "The  Respect  Due  the  Remains  of  the 
Dead."  On  September  22d,  1844,  he  celebrated  the 
Ninth  Anniversary  of  his  ordination  and  installment 
by  preaching  a  sermon  on  religious  obstacles  and  en- 
couragements, from  Deuteronomy,  first  chapter  and 
twenty-first  verse  :  "  Behold,  the  Lord  thy  God  hath 
set  the  land  before  thee  :  go  up  and  possess  it  as  the 
Lord  God  of  thy  Fathers  hath  said  unto  thee :  fear  not, 
neither  be  discouraged."  This  sermon,  which  his  peo- 
ple very  properly  deemed  worthy  of  a  longer  life  and  a 
wider  dissemination  than  could  be  secured  by  a  simple 
proclamation  from  the  sacred  desk,  was  printed  and 
evinces  the  same  thoroughness  of  analysis,  clearness  of 
statement,  soundness  of  judgment  and  refinement  of 
taste  which  characterizes  his  later  efforts.  It  closes 
with  this  personal  reference:  "  Nine  years  have  passed 
away  since  I  was  set  apart  to  labor  among  you  in  the 


10 


Gospel  Ministry.  Respecting  the  past  I  cannot  but 
thank  you  for  the  kindness  you  have  manifested  to  me, 
both  in  sickness  and  in  health,  both  in  prosperity  and 
in  sorrow.  Forgive  me,  I  fervently  beseech  you,  what- 
ever has  been  faulty  in  my  conduct  towards  you.  If  I 
have  ever  unconsciously  wounded  your  sensibilities,  if 
I  have  ever  manifested  too  little  sympathy  in  your 
afflictions  and  infirmities,  if  I  have  ever  neglected  your 
immortal  interests  may  God  forgive  me  as  I  now  heart- 
ily ask  your  forgiveness.  In  respect  to  the  future,  God 
only  knows  what  is  before  us,  and  God  grant  that,  as 
long  as  we  live  together,  no  root  of  bitterness  may 
spring  up  to  trouble  us."  That  this  prayer  was 
answered  is  clearly  disclosed  by  the  fact  that  twenty- 
one  years  after  his  relation  to  the  church  had  ended, 
he  was  invited  to  deliver  the  address  at  the  centennial 
commemoration  of  the  death  of  George  Whitefield, 
which  duty  he  discharged,  with  credit  to  himself  and 
satisfaction  to  his  hearers,  on  September  30th,  1870. 
The  warm  attachment  and  heartfelt  devotion  of  the 
people  of  his  first  charge  were  aptly  expressed,  not  only 
in  the  touching  tribute  of  respect  paid  him  in  the  reso- 
lutions of  the  Session,  but  also  in  that  significant  mem- 
orial service  which  was  held  on  November  21st. 
Eighty-one  strokes  of  the  bell,  indicative  of  the  age  of 


II 


Dr.  Stearns,  summoned  the  people  to  the  sanctuary, 
which  was  appropriately  draped.  On  the  front  of  the 
pulpit  stood  a  portrait  of  Dr.  Stearns,  and  beneath 
the  picture  a  large  floral  volume  bearincr,  in  immor- 
telles, upon  its  open  pages  the  sentence,  *' At  rest  with 
God."  An  original  poem,  written  by  Mrs.  A.  E. 
Porter,  an  old  parishioner,  was  read  ;  the  Rev.  D.  B. 
Sinclair,  Pastor  of  the  church,  preached  from  Revela- 
tions 14:  13,  ''Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the 
Lord";  a  tribute  to  his  memory  was  paid  by  Rev.  Dr. 
Fiske,  the  Pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church,  to 
whom  Dr.  Stearns  gave  the  right  hand  of  fellowship 
on  the  occasion  of  his  installment ;  a  tender  letter  from 
Rev.  John  Pike,  D.  D.,  was  read,  as  also  another  from 
Rev.  Dr.  Vermilye,  who  was  the  immediate  successor  of 
Dr.  Stearns  in  the  Newburyport  pulpit.  Since  such  a 
service  is  very  extraordinary  there  must  have  been  some- 
thing more  than  ordinary  about  a  relation  whose  frag- 
rance thus  survives  the  lapse  and  separation  of  forty  years. 
During  his  residence  at  Newburyport  Dr.  Stearns 
became  quite  noted  as  a  lyceum  lecturer,  and  it  was  on 
one  of  his  lecturing  tours,  in  the  year  1843,  that  he 
met,  in  the  city  of  Portland,  Me.,  the  elect  lady 
who  was  the  joy  of  his  life  and  to  whom  he  was 
married  in  a  few  months  after  introduction. 


i^ 


On  the  twenty-second  of  February,  1 848,  the  pulpit 
of  this  church  was  vacated  by  the  retirement  of  the 
Rev.  Ansel  D.  Eddy,  D.  D.  Acting  upon  information 
received  from  two  separate  and  distinct  sources  the 
attention  of  this  people  was  directed  towards  the  suc- 
cessful Pastor  at  Newburyport.  After  a  careful  study 
of  his  record,  the  Session  called  a  meeting  of  the  male 
members  of  this  church  and  congregation,  which  was 
held  in  the  lecture  room  on  Tuesday,  July  31st,  1849, 
at  two  o'clock,  P.  M.,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bradley  presiding 
and  opening  with  prayer.  Dr.  L.  A.  Smith  and  Joseph 
N.  Tuttle  acting  as  secretaries.  I  quote  from  the 
minutes  of  the  meeting  :  ''  Several  statements  having 
been  made  in  respect  to  the  ministerial  qualifications 
of  the  Rev.  Jonathan  F.  Stearns,  of  Newburyport, 
Mass.,  it  was  thereupon  proposed  that  a  committee  be 
appointed  with  a  view  of  hearing  him  preach  and  to 
make  a  report  at  a  future  meeting  of  the  congregation, 
which  proposition  was  negatived,  7ie7n.  co7t.  It  was 
thereupon  resolved  that  the  meeting  is  now  prepared 
to  proceed  to  the  selection  and  call  of  a  Pastor.  A 
proposition  to  proceed  to  balloting  was  unanimously 
acquiesced  in  and  the  Secretaries  were  appointed  Tellers. 
The  Tellers,  having  collected  and  counted  the  ballots, 
reported   to   the  meeting  that   fifty  ballots   had   been 


13 

cast,  of  which  forty-nine  were  in  favor  of  the  Rev. 
Jonathan  F.  Stearns  and  one  was  blank.  It  was 
then  unanimously  resolved  that  a  call  be  made  out  to 
Mr.  Stearns,  and  that,  in  case  of  his  acceptance,  the 
congregation  agree  to  pay  him  a  salary  of  sixteen  hun- 
dred dollars,  in  quarterly  payments,  and  to  provide  him 
with  a  suitable  parsonage.  The  following  persons  were 
appointed  a  select  committee  to  subscribe  said  call,  viz. : 
Isaac  Nichols,  John  Taylor,  Uzal  J.  Tuttle,  Isaac 
Baldwin,  P.  H.  Porter,  Demas  Colton,  Jr.,  and  Wm. 
K.  McDonald.  A  special  committee,  consisting  of 
Dr.  S.  H.  Pennington,  Dr.  L.  A.  Smith  and  Mr.  John 
Taylor,  (Messrs.  Joseph  A.  Halsey  and  Joseph  N. 
Tuttle,  alternates)  was  appointed  to  present  in  person 
the  said  call  to  the  Pastor  elect  and  to  prosecute  the 
same  before  Presbytery."  From  this  official  record  we 
learn  that  Dr.  Stearns  received  a  unanimous  call  to 
the  pastorate  of  this  church  without  a  single  member 
of  the  committee,  the  church  or  the  congregation 
having  ever  heard  him  preach,  and  this  church  made 
no  mistake  in  so  doing. 

Responsive  to  this  unique  invitation  Dr.  Stearns 
spent  a  Sabbath  in  Newark,  studying  the  field  and 
preaching  to  the  congregation,  when  being  favorably 
impressed,  he  signified  his  purpose  to  accept  the  call. 


H 

That  the  way  was  being  prepared  for  the  advent  of  the 
new  Pastor  appears  from  the  Trustees'  records  under 
date  of  October  19th,  1849.  ''  The  Session  and  Trus- 
tees having,  at  a  joint  meeting,  recommended  that  the 
salary  of  the  Pastor  elect  take  effect  from  the  first  day 
of  August  last,  (that  being  about  the  period  he  received 
the  call)  it  was  resolved  that  the  Treasurer  pay  him  his 
salary  agreeable  to  the  recommendation."  The  Treas- 
urer was  also  authorized  to  pay  the  Rev.  Mr.  Mcllvaine, 
who  had  served  as  stated  supply,  "  for  his  ministerial 
labors  in  the  church  and  congregation  from  the  28th 
day  of  January  last  to  the  2 2d  instant."  October  2 2d 
was  Monday,  and  on  the  following  Sabbath,  October 
28th,  1849,  ^^  the  full  prime  of  his  manhood  and  the 
maturity  of  his  powers.  Dr.  Stearns  began  his  work  in 
this  church.  On  December  r3th,  1849,  ^^  ^^^  ^^^Y 
installed  as  Pastor,  by  the  Presbytery  of  Newark,  being 
the  fourteenth  in  the  line  of  able,  honored  and  godly 
men  who  had  served  in  that  capacity.  On  this  occa- 
sion, the  Rev.  Mr.  Gallagher,  of  Orange,  presided  and 
propounded  the  constitutional  questions;  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Henry  B.  Smith,  then  Professor  in  Amherst  College, 
preached  the  sermon  from  Colossians  2:9,  "  For  in 
Him  dwelleth  all  the  fullness  of  the  godhead  bodily"; 
the  charge  to  the  Pastor  was  given  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 


IS 

Brinsmade  of  the  Third  Church ;  the  charge  to  the 
people  by  the  Rev.  D.  G.  Sprague  of  South  Orange ; 
the  prayer  of  installment  was  offered  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Eddy  and  the  services  were  closed  by  the  benediction 
from  the  new  Pastor.  The  relation  thus  auspiciously 
established  continued  for  a  whole  generation,  the  work 
being  interrupted  only  by  three  visits  to  Europe.  In 
1854,  while  the  church  was  being  renovated,  Dr. 
Stearns  and  his  wife  were  abroad  for  six  months ;  in 
1859  he  was  absent  for  three  and  in  1874  for  four 
months.  The  duration  of  the  relation  is  very  easily 
computed,  but  the  results  of  the  relation  will  never  be 
perfectly  known  until  the  seals  of  God's  book  are 
broken.  Of  results  we  may  not  attempt  to  speak  in 
detail.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  Dr.  Stearns  received 
twelve  hundred  and  sixteen  souls  into  the  communion 
of  this  church  during  his  pastorate ;  of  these,  three  hun- 
dred and  eighty-two  united  on  certificate  and  eight 
hundred  and  thirty-four  on  profession  of  faith  in  Christ. 

In  January,  1851,  after  Dr.  Stearns  had  been 
settled  but  little  over  a  year,  he  delivered  four  histori- 
cal sermons,  and  out  of  them  came  that  which  has 
proved  to  be  the  great  literary  work  of  his  life,  namely, 
his  history  of  ''the  First  Church  in    Newark."     He 


i6 


tells  us  that  it  was  his  intention  to  prepare  ''  a  single 
practical  discourse,  founded  on  a  slight  glance  at  the 
history  of  the  congregation,  the  early  part  of  which  he 
then  supposed  had  been  traced  with  sufficient  minute- 
ness and  accuracy  by  another  hand."  The  suggestion 
of  the  proposed  sermon  came  from  the  fact  ''that  the 
beginning  of  the  present  year  completed  one-half  a 
century  since  the  history  of  this  church  was  last  traced 
in  a  century  discourse  by  the  venerable  MacWhorter, 
and  just  sixty  since  the  house  where  we  are  now  as- 
sembled was  first  opened  for  public  worship.  Such  an 
occasion  I  am  unwilling  to  let  slip,  without  at  least 
reminding  you  that  there  is  a  Past  to  be  reviewed  with 
interest  and  gratitude."  When  he  entered  upon  his 
proposed  work  he  found  ''the  materials  so  grew  upon 
his  hands  that  he  was  insensibly  led  to  extend  his  nar- 
rative to  the  space  of  four  pulpit  discourses."  Respon- 
sive to  a  general  demand  for  their  pubHcation,  Dr. 
Stearns  rewrote  his  sermons,  adding  much  new  mate- 
rial "which  seemed  hardly  suitable  to  the  dignity  and 
sacredness  of  the  pulpit."  He  felt  also,  in  sending 
them  forth  in  this  permanent  form  that  it  was  "  neces- 
sary to  pay  more  regard  to  completeness  and  accuracy 
than  had  entered  into  the  original  plan,"  hence,  while 
discharging  all  the  ordinary  duties  of  his  pastorate,  he 


17 

toiled  conscientiously  at  this  work,  through  185  i,  '52 
and  '53,  up  to  the  issuance  of  the  volume  from  the 
press.  He  tells  us  that  ''the  labor  incident  to  such 
inquiries  no  one  knows  who  has  not  tried  the  experi- 
ment. The  materials  must  be  collected  from  the 
widest  spaces  and  wrought  into  true  connection  with 
each  other  by  the  most  careful  consideration  of  times 
and  circumstances.  The  determination  of  a  date  may 
often  require  to  be  pursued  through  volumes,  pamph- 
lets, records  and  obscure  manuscripts,  the  examination 
of  which  will  cost  days  of  toil,  and  access  to  them  to 
be  obtained  only  by  the  tardy  process  of  correspond- 
ence, or  by  visiting  in  person  remote  places.  And 
after  all  perhaps,  the  result  is  one  which  the  ordinary 
reader  will  either  not  notice,  or  regard  as  a  mere  matter 
of  course."  Long,  hard  and  well  did  he  work,  and  as 
the  outcome  of  his  labors  we  have  an  accurate  history 
of  the  founding  and  development  of  the  Church  and 
the  City,  a  history  which  is  recognized  as  an  authority 
and  is  the  source  whence  all  subsequent  writers  have 
drawn  their  material.  By  this  great  work  Dr.  Stearns 
laid  this  Church  and  this  City  under  obligations  which 
can  never  be  met.  For  this  great  work,  the  Church 
and  the  City  can  never  be  sufficiently  grateful, 
and   through    this   great    work,     though    he    had    left 


i8 


nothing  else  behind  him,   he  will   hve   in  a  deathless 
memory. 

In  1850  he  was  made  a  Director  in  Union  Theolog- 
ical Seminary,  and  for  many  years  served  this  school  of 
the  Prophets  faithfully  and  effectively.  His  personal 
influence  with  the  men  was  a  potent  factor  in  the 
movement  which  secured  Henry  B.  Smith  and  Roswell 
D.  Hitchcock  for  their  respective  chairs  in  the  institu- 
tion. Indeed  it  is  a  curious  feature  in  the  history  of 
Dr.  Stearns  that  he  was  a  beloved  member  of  two 
distinguished  triumvirates,  both  of  them  centering  about 
Union  Theological  Seminary.  The  first  group  em- 
braced Dr.  Stearns,  Dr.  Henry  B.  Smith  and  Dr. 
George  L.  Prentiss,  although  the  intimacy  of  the  three 
friends  began  long  before  either  of  them  sustained  any 
official  relation  to  the  Seminary.  The  closeness  of 
their  friendship  is  set  forth  in  a  playful  letter,  written 
by  Dr.  Smith  from  Vevay,  while  he  and  Dr.  Prentiss 
were  abroad. 

'•My  Dear  Stearns: — You  cannot  imagine  how  much  George 
and  I  pity  you,  forced  as  you  are  to  fight  the  battles  of  the  Church 
in  the  midst  of  these  summer  heats,  wliile  we  are  inhaling  long 
draughts  of  health  and  Alpine  air.  Keep  me,  my  dear  friend,  in 
your  thoughts  and  prayers  and  may  God  bless  you." 


19 

In  1847,  while  Dr.  Stearns  was  yet  in  Newhuiy- 
port,  Dr.  Smith  having  been  called  from  his  pastorate  at 
West  Amcsbury  to  the  Amherst  professorship  wrote 

"  Dr.  Stkarns  : — It  pains  nic  to  go  so  far  away  from  you,  but  we 
shall  yet  meet,  and  often  I  trust,  and  ahvays  in  friendsliip  " 

While  considering  his  call  to  Union  Seminary, 
before  giving  his  official  response,  he  wrote  to  Dr. 
Stearns,  then  a  Director  in  the  institution,  as  follows  : 

"My  nE\R  Stearns: — Yours  is  received,  thanks  for  it,  its  l<ind- 
ness,  its  partiality  and  its  wisdom.  I  liave  about  come  to  a  con- 
clusion, which  is,  I  must  s^o  to  New  York.  I  shall  need  great 
indulgence   but  I  know  you  will  give  it  me." 

He  came,  wrought  grandly  for  the  Seminary  and 
the  Church,  and  then,  when  sick  unto  death,  he  wrote 
once  more  to  his  friend. 

"Stearns: — I  have  to  go  off,  I  am  worn  and  wearied,  taking  life 
liardly  and  often  wishing  for  deatli,  but  I  want  you  to  know  how 
much  I  love  you  and  honor  you;  what  profound  esteem  I  had  for 
your  wife  ?ind  how  much  I  feel  for  you  in  your  loneliness;  how 
much  I  thank  you  for  all  you  have  been  to  me  and  have  done  for 
me,  much  more  than  vou  will  ever  fully  know." 


20 


The  second  group  was  made  up  of  three  Newark 
Pastors  who  were  also  Directors  in  the  Seminary. 
Concerning  them,  Dr.  Prentiss  in  his  History  of  Union 
Theological  Seminary  says :  ''The  death  of  Dr.  Wil- 
son renders  vacant  the  last  of  three  seats  in  the  Board 
of  Directors  which  had  been  occupied  for  one-third  of 
a  century  by  a  remarkable  triumvirate  of  Newark  Pas- 
tors, the  first  two  of  whom  were  Jonathan  F.  Stearns, 
elected  in  1850,  and  Joseph  Fewsmith,  elected  in  1852. 
They  were  three  in  varied  graces  and  individuality  of 
character  and  work,  but  they  were  one  and  of  one 
heart  and  mind,  in  striving  together  so  long,  side  by 
side,  for  the  faith  and  furtherance  of  the  Gospel. 
The  very  sight  of  them,  as  they  used  to  take  their 
places  together  so  promptly  at  the  meeting  of  the 
Board  of  Directors  of  Union  Seminary,  was  a  bene- 
diction." 

In  1850  the  honorary  title  of  Doctor  of  Divinity 
was  conferred  upon  Dr.  Stearns  by  the  College  of 
New  Jersey  and  in  1864  he  was  made  a  trustee  of  that 
institution.  Although  his  family  had  been  so  long 
connected  with,  and  he  himself  a  graduate  of  high 
standing  from  Harvard  College,  he  gave  his  best  coun- 
sels and  hearty  service  to  Princeton,  evincing  his  un- 


51 


questioned  loyalty  by  educating  both  of  his  sons  at  the 
Jersey  College. 

The  German  Theological  Seminary  at  Bloomficld 
owes  its  being  to  Dr.  Stearns  and  Dr.  Poor.  For 
many  years  Dr.  Stearns  was  President  of  its  Board  of 
Directors  and  never  ceased  to  feel  and  manifest  the 
largest  interest  in  its  work  and  prosperity. 

Dr.  Stearns  began  his  pastorate  here  at  a  time  when 
the  rival  rallying  cries  of  Old  and  New  School  were  too 
well  known  and  were  too  frequently  heard  in  the 
Church.  As  the  new  Pastor  was,  in  some  points,  in 
sympathy  with  Old  School  views  while  the  Church 
was  in  New  School  connection,  considerable  interest 
was  felt,  in  some  quarters,  as  to  his  probable  course 
under  these  conditions.  But  both  Old  School  and 
New  soon  learned  that  Dr.  Stearns  was  no  ecclesias- 
tical partisan  ;  that  he  was  a  peacemaker  rather  than  a 
polemic ;  that  his  work  was  constructive,  not  destruc- 
tive, hence  he  was  peculiarly  fitted  to  be  one  of  the 
most  influential  actors  in  securing  the  reunion  of  the 
two  bodies.  Long  before  this  topic  became  a  theme 
of  public  discussion,  he  sought  to  rid  the  New  School 
of  certain   ''entangling  alliances"  which   brought  that 


HI 


body  into  disrepute  with  the  Old.  He  was  influential 
in  the  establishment,  and  for  many  years  was  a  mem- 
ber, of  the  Home  Mission  Committee,  helping,  by  his 
wise  counsels,  to  shape  that  pohcy  which  saved  to 
Presbyterianism  many  churches  which  otherwise  would 
have  sought  a  different  ecclesiastical  connection.  His 
sermon  on  ''Justification  by  Faith",  preached  before 
the  Synod  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  at  Pough- 
keepsie,  on  October  25th,  1852,  did  much  to  allay  the 
suspicions  of  the  Old  School  body  as  to  the  theological 
soundness  of  the  New.  He  was  an  influential  member 
of  the  New  School  Committee  on  reunion,  and  when 
the  inner  history  of  that  movement  shall  be  given  to 
the  world  the  record  will  show  that  no  one  man  did 
more  of  the  real,  telling  work  which  secured  the  de- 
sired result  than  did  Dr.  Stearns.  In  recognition  of 
his  own  deserts  and  of  his  faithful  labors  on  behalf  of 
reunion,  he  was  elected  Moderator  of  the  General 
Assembly  which  met  in  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  in  1868.  On 
May  20th  Dr.  Henry  B.  Smith  in  a  letter  to  his  wife 
says:  ''Stearxs  was  elected  Moderator  by  a  large 
majority  and  made  a  first-rate  speech."  Again,  on  May 
27th,  Dr.  Smith  writes  his  wife:  ''Stearns  is  doing 
exceedingly  well  (tell  his  wife)  as  Moderator."  As  the 
retiring  Moderator,  in  May,   1869,  at  the  Church   of 


^3 

the  Covenant,  in  New  York,  Dr.  Stearns  preached 
the  sermon  from  the  text,  John  17:  21,  ''That  they 
all  may  be  one."  The  great  topic  of  the  hour  was  the 
reunion  of  the  two  assemblies.  In  the  course  of  his 
sermon,  Dr.  Stearns  gave  expression  to  a  sentiment 
which  was  not  only  timely  when  he  uttered  it,  but  is 
full  of  striking  significance  at  this  hour,  in  view  of  the 
present  posture  of  affairs  in  the  Church.  After  noting 
the  substantial  identity  of  the  two  bodies,  he  considered 
the  claim  for  liberty  in  the  proposed  consolidation  by 
asking  :  ''What  liberty?  Liberty  to  subscribe  to  one 
thing  and  beheve  another  ?  Liberty  to  think  and  speak 
contrary  to  the  Scriptures  ?  Do  we  require  other  or 
greater  liberty  than  that  secured  to  us  by  the  words  of 
our  Standards  ?  Presbyterianism  does  not  require  us 
to  receive  the  Confession  of  Faith  as  infallible.  It  does 
not  tie  us  up  to  those  precise  words  or  forms  of  ex- 
pression. It  does  not  require  us  to  subscribe  to  every 
proposition  contained  in  it,  but  only  to  receive  it  as 
containing,  according  to  its  true  intent  and  original 
meaning,  the  system  of  doctrine  taught  in  the  Script- 
ures. Calvinism  is  not  that  iron  thing  that  some  have 
supposed  it.  None  of  us  take  it  as  such.  None  of  us 
preach  it  as  such.  We  mean  to  have  all  reasonable 
liberty,    but    in    the    union    or    out    of    it,    we    mean 


24 


to   maintain    and   teach    the    doctrine    of    the    Con- 
fession." 

After  the  reunion  had  been  effected,  the  difficult  and 
dehcate  task  of  negotiating  the  separation  of  the  New 
School  missionary  work  from  its  connection  with  the 
American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  and  the  transfer 
of  its  missionaries  to  the  control  of  the  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  was  largely  entrusted  to 
Dr.  Stearns,  long  a  corporate  member  of  the  American 
Board,  and  so  satisfactorily  did  he  discharge  the  duty 
that  no  word  of  complaint  was  uttered  by  either  party. 

During  the  dark  days  of  the  Civil  Strife,  Dr. 
Stearns  occupied  no  equivocal  position  and  his  pulpit 
gave  forth  no  uncertain  sound.  Many  of  you  recall 
that  impassioned,  open  air  appeal  when  the  flag  of  the 
Nation  was  unfurled  from  the  spire  of  this  church. 
Thoroughly  loyal  himself,  he  boldly  proclaimed  the 
imperative  duty  of  sacrificing  everything,  if  needs  be, 
in  support  of  the  government.  ''If  ever  there  was  a 
sacred  cause  on  earth,  we  believe  this  one  is.  It  is  just 
the  cause  for  which  the  New  Testament  explicitly 
commands  the  unsheathing  of  the  sword  in  God's 
name.  It  is  said  w^e  cannot  carry  it  through.  We 
reply,  we  did  not  take  that  question  into  the  account 


25 

when  we  entered  on  this  strup^orjc.  It  was  a  plain 
duty  to  undertake  it,  it  was  a  case  of  hfe  and  death  to 
the  nation  and  we  must  struggle  until  the  power  to  do 
so  no  longer  remains." 

February  9th,  1862,  was  a  very  dark  day  in  our 
National  history.  Great  Britain  was  indignant  over 
the  Trent  matter  and  France  was  represented  as  being 
fully  resolved  on  interference  in  our  affairs,  yet  in  that 
darkest  hour  Dr.  Stearns  said  :  ''  Many  a  noble  cause 
has  gone  through  worse  embarrassments  and  we  can 
go  through  worse.  As  yet,  the  struggle  has  but  grazed 
the  surface  of  our  strength  and  means.  If  needs  be  we 
must  plough  a  deeper  furrow  to  reach  the  hard  subsoil 
of  our  self-devotion.  '"*  *"*  --'•  ^'-  I  would  not  fear,  in  such 
a  case,  England  and  France  combined.  They  might 
sorely  afflict,  but  could  not  crush  us.  ^'  -  -  '^  We 
must  do  our  duty.  We  must  restore  in  every  state  and 
corner  of  the  land  that  rightful  authority  which  is  the 
bulwark  of  their  peace  and  happiness  as  well  as  ours. 
We  must  strike  down,  in  the  name  of  truth  and  right- 
eousness, the  hideous  demon  of  rebellion,  in  whose 
shout  of  victory  the  appalled  nations  would  hear  the 
knell  of  freedom  and  the  dying  groans  of  crushed  phil- 
anthropy. This,  by  the  help  of  God,  cost  what  it  may, 
we  will  do." 


26 


While  busily  engaged  in  pastoral  work  and  in  the 
wider  work  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  and  institutions, 
he  was  not  unmindful  of  the  needs  of  our  rapidly 
growing  City.  The  records  of  Presbyteiy  and  the  or- 
ganization of  Bethany  Church  give  practical  expression 
to  his  interest  in  and  zeal  for  City  Church  extension. 

Into  the  sanctity  of  the  home  circle  we  may  not  in- 
trude, yet  any  sketch  of  Dr.  Stearns'  life  would  be 
fatally  incomplete  which  did  not  take  into  considera- 
tion the  invaluable  aid  given  him  by  his  devoted  wife. 
Anna  Prentiss  was  the  sister  of  Dr.  George  L.  Prentiss, 
Professor  in  Union  Theological  Seminary,  and  of  the 
late  Seargent  S.  Prentiss  of  Mississippi,  whose  reputa- 
tion as  an  orator  still  survives.  Her  early  life  was 
passed  in  that  brilliant  society  for  which  the  South  was 
so  famed  before  the  war  until  she  reached  her  twenty- 
fifth  year,  when,  marrying  Dr.  Stearns,  she  gave  her- 
self up  to  his  work  with  an  untiring  zeal  and  devotion 
which  probably  helped  to  shorten  her  own  fife.  She 
was  ''a  woman  of  rare  personal  attractions,  of  ex- 
ceptional social  qualities,  of  warm  and  sympathizing 
heart  and  of  devoted  piety."  Her  strength  of  char- 
acter, her  clearness  of  judgment  and  her  practical  ability' 
not   only  made   her  a   power  in   social    and    religious 


27 

circles,  but  especially  fitted  her  to  be  a  helpmeet  to  her 
husband  who  was  often  hindered  in  his  work  by  period- 
ical sick  headaches  which  so  disabled  him  for  a  season, 
that  he  would  have  resi^^ned  his  pastoral  charge  and 
sought  some  less  laborious  position  had  it  not  been  for 
the  encouragement,  the  sympathy  and  the  support 
which  he  received  from  his  wife.  She  made  the  old 
Mulberry  Street  parsonage  radiant  by  her  presence  and 
the  light  of  his  life  went  out,  when  on  January  2d, 
1869,  God  took  the  wife  of  the  Pastor  to  Himself. 
Her  work  in  this  church  and  her  worth  are  still  held  in 
a  loving  appreciation,  and  it  is  eminently  appropriate 
that  the  ladies  of  our  church  should  perpetuate  the 
memory  of  that  work  and  worth,  by  giving,  as  they 
have  given,  her  name  to  their  missionary  band. 

But  the  longest  and  most  useful  life  must  come  to 
an  end.  Even  to  those  most  unwilling  to  admit  the 
fact,  it  became  painfully  evident  that  Dr.  Stearns  was 
gradually  failing,  hence  on  April  ist,  1882,  in  view  of 
his  increasing  infirmities,  the  congregation  released  him 
from  the  active  duties  of  his  pastorate ;  retained  him  as 
Pastor  Emeritus,  providing  for  him,  as  one  of  his  sons 
appreciatively  says,  with  a  **  generosity  which  sur- 
rounded my  father  with  every  comfort  during  the  in- 


28 


firmities  of  his  closing  years  and  did  not  cease  until  he 
was  laid  away  in  the  grave."  On  Sunday,  February 
4th,  1883,  he  gave  me  a  most  cordial  welcome  to  a 
pulpit  made  eminent  by  himself  and  a  long  line  of 
worthy  predecessors.  On  February  7th,  1883,  Presby- 
tery retired  him  from  his  pastorate;  approved  the 
action  of  the  church  in  making  him  Pastor  Emeritus 
and  '' Resolved  that  Presbytery  takes  this  occasion  to 
record  its  high  appreciation  of  the  long  and  faithful 
services  of  the  Rev.  Jonathan  F.  Stearns,  D.  D.,  as 
Pastor  of  the  First  Church,  Newark,  now  extending, 
with  unblemished  reputation  and  ever  increasing  honor, 
over  a  period  of  thirty-three  years."  On  February  2  ist, 
1883,  he  gave  the  charge  to  the  people  at  my  installa- 
tion, and  ever  after  it  seemed  to  be  his  aim  to  hide 
himself  in  order  that  the  eyes  of  the  church  might  turn 
from  that  past  of  which  he  had  so  long  been  the  cen- 
tral and  honored  figure  to  the  work  of  the  future  in  the 
which  he  was  to  have  no  part.  He  demitted  every- 
thing, save  a  loving  interest  in  the  church  and  its 
success.  Thrice  we  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  his  minis- 
trations at  the  Lord's  table.  On  March  i6th,  1884, 
just  prior  to  his  removal  to  New  Brunswick,  I-xon- 
strained  him,  much  against  his  own  inclination,  to  fill 
his  old  place  in  the  pulpit  and  to  preach  once  more  to 


29 

his  old  people.  It  cost  him  much  to  render  that 
service,  hut  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  his 
sermon  from  Titus  2:15,  ''Let  no  man  despise  thee," 
was  a  much  more  graphic  portraiture  of  the  character 
of  the  retiring  Pastor  than  is  this  memorial  sermon. 
We  saw  him  once  more  in  the  church  after  this  service. 
It  was  on  September  25th,  1887,  when,  although  in 
very  poor  health,  he  attended  the  Centennial  Anniver- 
sary of  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  our  church 
edifice,  on  which  occasion  he  read  the  Scriptures  and 
pronounced  the  benediction.  The  next  time  he  came, 
we  brought  him,  and  we  brought  him  encoffined  for 
the  tomb. 

After  his  retirement  from  active  work  Dr.  Stearns 
spent  much  of  his  time  re-reading  the  Andover  and 
Harvard  Greek,  preparing  his  part  with  all  the  zest  of 
the  ambitious  school-boy.  But  soon  the  overshadow- 
ing fog  which  had  gathered  about  his  faculties  grew 
deeper  and  darker.  He  forgot  almost  everything,  yet 
with  all  his  forgetting  he  never  forgot  to  be  the  gentle- 
man. All  that  deep,  ingrained  gentility  and  refinement 
which  was  warp  and  woof  in  his  character;  all  that  was 
noblest  and  best  in  him,  his  tender  courtesy,  his  true 
dignity,  his  genuine  self  respect  he  retained  to  the  last. 
But   a   few  days   before  my  departure  for  Palestine  I 


30 

called  to  see  him  thinking  he  might  not  abide  until  my 
return.  As  a  matter  of  course  he  did  not  know  who  I 
was;  he  could  not  recall,  he  did  not  even  recognize  the 
picture  of  the  First  Church,  but  when  I  told  him  how 
he  had  welcomed  me  as  his  successor,  with  all  the  old 
time  courtesy,  he  responded,  "  I  am  very  happy  to 
think  I  left  such  a  good  one."  He  lost  the  power  of 
memory,  but  this  was  all  that  he  lost.  He  was  not 
imbecile,  his  mind  was  not  shattered.  He  simply  for- 
got everything,  and  I  can  conceive  no  better  explana- 
tion of  the  mystery  than  that  which  Dr.  Craven  so 
tenderly  formulated  at  the  funeral  service,  viz. :  that 
God  was  merely  giving  his  hard  worked  servant  a  little 
season  of  rest  in  the  darkness  here  before  he  ushered 
him  upon  the  ceaseless  work  of  praise  in  the  realm  of 
light  beyond.  Gradually  his  physical  strength  waned  ; 
four  days  of  unconscious  existence  here,  then  on 
November  nth  the  fog  lifted,  and  confronting  the 
excellent  glory,  behold  he  once  more  knows,  aye, 
knows  even  as  also  he  is  known. 

By  the  kind  permission  of  his  children  our  Session 
took  full  charge  of  the  funeral  and  served  as  bearers, 
every  member  of  that  body  going  to  New  Brunswick 
for  that  purpose.  On  November  14th,  after  appro- 
priate services  at  the  house  of  his  son-in-law,  Professor 


31 

Austin  Scott,  all  that  was  mortal  of  Dr.  Stearns  was 
brought  back  to  this  church,  the  place  of  his  toils  and 
his  triumphs,  which  had  been  appropriately  draped  by 
our  Trustees.  The  public  services  were  of  the  simplest 
character.  After  Dr.  tiart  of  New  Brunswick  had 
offered  an  invocation,  Dr.  Findley  read  the  Scriptures, 
the  hymn  ''Rock  of  Ages"  was  sung,  the  addresses 
were  made  by  Drs.  Craven  and  Frazer,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Hopwood  led  in  prayer,  the  hymn  ''  Unveil  Thy  Bosom, 
Faithful  Tomb,"  was  sung  and  then  our  Session  bore 
their  departed  Pastor  away  and  with  their  own-  hands 
they  tenderly  and  reverently  laid  him  in  his  last  resting 
place  at  Mount  Pleasant  Cemetery. 

"  Lay  the  weary  head  to  rest 
On  kind  Nature's  ample  breast; 
Fold  the  hands  we  used  to  grasp, 
Warm  and  loving  was  their  clasp. 
Sleep,  beloved,  restful  sleep, 
Yet  forgive  us  that  we  weep." 

We  weep,  not  on  his  behalf,  but  because  we  have 
laid  away  a  princely  m,an.  Those  of  us  who  have 
known  him  only  in  these  later  days  have  seen  merely 
the  flashes  of  light  which  serve  as  hints  of  the  steady 
flame  that  burned  so  long  and  so  clearly.  He  was  a 
man    of   broad    culture  and  would   have  adorned  the 


32 

Presidency  of  Hamilton  College  or  the  University  of 
Vermont,  to  which  positions  he  was  most  urgently 
called.  Although  a  Master  in  theology,  his  studies 
were  not  restricted  to  the  limits  of  his  profession,  the 
well  annotated  library  witnessing  alike  to  a  systematic 
habit  and  a  wide  range  of  study.  He  kept  up  his 
familiarity  with  the  Latin  and  Greek  classics :  he  had  a 
good,  working  acquaintance  with  French  and  German 
and  had  made  considerable  progress  in  the  knowledge 
of  Spanish.  When  well  advanced  in  years,  to  equip 
himself  for  the  defense  of  the  Gospel  against  scientific 
assaults,  he  mastered  the  works  of  the  most  eminent 
scientists.  He  was  a  great  lover  of  poetry  and  could 
readily  recite  long  passages  from  the  most  noted  Eng- 
lish authors,  and  was  so  thoroughly  conversant  with 
the  Word  of  God  that  he  would  occasionally  close  the 
l)Ook  at  family  worship  and  repeat  a  chapter  from 
memory.  In  the  latter  years  his  English  Bible,  his 
Greek  Testament  and  Keble's  Christian  Year  were  his 
favorite  books.  He  was  a  man  of  remarkably  sound 
judgment,  rising  above  the  contagion  of  popular  par- 
tiality and  being  unswayed  by  the  clamor  of  popular 
prejudice.  He  v/as  never  in  haste  to  decide,  yet  he 
was  never  indecisive,  and  when  his  opinion  was  formed, 
he  had  a  reason  for  it  and  acted  upon  it  with  unwaver- 


2>Z 

ing  energy  and  with  unswerving  steadfastness.  To 
those  who  met  him  only  publicly  and  officially  he  ap- 
peared as  the  reserved,  courtly  and  dignified  gentleman. 
But  he  was  more  than  this;  he  was  singularly  free 
from  assumed  stateliness  and  affectation;  while  he  did 
nothing  from  mere  impulse  as  divorced  from  reflection, 
his  utterances  were  not  weighted  down  with  awful 
gravity  but  welled  up  from  the  depths  of  his  nature 
rendered  genial  by  the  vein  of  humor  which  pervaded 
it ;  his  confidence  was  never  rashly  bestowed,  but  when 
given,  was  given  unreservedly,  and  the  tenderness  of 
his  affection,  the  sweetness  of  his  disposition  and  the 
cheerfulness  of  his  manner  in  the  home  circle  cannot 
be  easily  overstated. 

But  above  all  Dr.  Stearns  was  pre-eminently  a  man 
of  prayer,  his  true  power  being  derived  from  a  close, 
personal  communion  with  God.  At  the  last  meeting 
of  K.  X.  which  he  attended  he  offered  the  closinor 
prayer  and  his  petitions  were  marked  with  such  peculiar 
unction  and  earnestness  that  he  seemed  to  be  talking 
with  God,  face  to  face.  At  its  conclusion,  Dr.  Few- 
smith  said,  ''Was  not  that  wonderful?  What  does  it 
mean  ? "  ''A  speedy  translation,"  was  my  response.  But 
I  was  wrong,  the  fiery  chariot  came  not :  it  was  only  the 
man  of  prayer  praying  as  only  the  man  of  prayer  can  pray. 


34 

But  now  his  prayers  are  ended,  his  work  is  done. 
Reviewing  that  life  work  we  can  honestly  and  thank- 
fully say, 

'*  He  has  fought  a  good  fight." 

"  Worn  the  breastplate  and  the  hehnet, 

Worn  the  panoply  and  shield  ; 
But  his  sword  no  rust  has  gathered 

On  Life's  weary  battle  field. 
High  he  held  the  royal  standard, 

And  the  banner  of  the  cross 
Never  lowered  in  the  conflict, 

Never  suffered  shame  or  loss." 

"He  has  finished  his  course." 

Never  again  shall  we  see  that  venerable  form  in  this 
sacred  desk.  Never  again  shall  we  hear  his  tender 
tones  proclaiming  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  Never 
again  shall  his  loving  hands  dispense  to  us  the  emblems 
of  the  broken  body  and  the  shed  blood.  We  shall  see 
him  again,  but  only  when  this  mortal  shall  have  put 
on  immortality. 

''He  has  kept  the  faith," 

and  the  faith  has  so  kept  him  that,  after  filling  a  prom- 
inent public  position  in  this  community  for  forty  years, 


35 

he  comes  down  to  his  crravc  without  a  stain  upon  his 
character  or  a  spot  upon  his  reputation. 

"He  has  received  the  crown" 

which  the  Master  has  laid  up  for  those  who  are  faithful 
unto  death.  Life's  labors  ended,  he  rests  in  Christ ; 
his  works,  speaking  in  tones  of  hallowed  benediction, 
do  follow  him,  and  although  we  may  not  rightly  esti- 
mate the  full  value  of  these  works  or  adequately  set 
forth  the  worth  of  his  character,  we  can  remember  the 
words  which  he  spake  unto  us  while  he  was  yet  present 
with  us,  we  may  imitate  the  godly  example  which  he 
has  set  us,  and  we  will  enshrine  among  our  dearest 
earthly  memories  the  name  of  Jonathan  French 
Stearns. 


RESOLUTIONS. 

Resolutions  of  the  Session  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
CJuireJi  of  iVewark,  N.J.,  on  the  death  of  the  Pastor 
Emeritus,  Rev.  JonatJian  F.  Stearns,  D.  D. 

Newark,  Ahru.  12th,  iS8g. 

Although  his  venerable  age  and  his  long  enfeebled 
condition  of  health  had  measurably  prepared  us  for  the 
sad  tidings,  Session  has  learned,  with  sincere  and  j^ro- 
found  sorrow,  that  on  Monday  last,  November  iith, 
1889,  the  Rev.  Jonathan  F.  Stearns,  D.  D.,  departed 
this  life. 

Dr.  Stearns  came  to  our  church  in  the  full  ma- 
turity of  his  powers  and  gave  to  it  the  best  years  of  his 
life,  serving  as  Pastor  for  thirty-four  years,  and  sustain- 
ing the  relation  of  Pastor  Emeritus  for  nearly  eight 
years  additional,  a  term  of  service  unsurpassed,  save 
with  one  exception,  in  our  long  history  of  tw^o  hundred 
and  twenty-two  years.  Endowed  with  a  naturally  clear 
and  strong  mind,  which  was  thoroughly  trained  by 
careful  and  conscientious  study,  he  devoted  himself 
with  zeal,  fidelity  and  success  to  his  pastoral  work  in 


38 

the  midst  of  us  until  the  infirmities  of  age  compelled 
him  to  retire  from  the  position  which  he  had  so  long 
adorned.  He  was  a  prudent  man,  a  wise  counsellor,  a 
sympathetic  friend  and  a  loving  Pastor.  He  was  amia- 
ble in  character,  courteous  in  manners,  blameless  in 
life  and  triumphant  in  death.  In  a  word,  Dr.  Stearns 
was  an  ideal  Christian  gentleman. 

Although  his  faithful  ministrations  to  us  and  our 
delightful  intercourse  with  him  will  henceforth  be  only 
blessed  memories,  yet  these  recollections  can  never  die 
and  must  prove  inspirations  for  good  in  the  days  which 
are  to  come. 

We  commend  his  bereaved  children  and  children's 
children  to  the  grace  of  our  covenant  keeping  God 
and  pray  that  the  Master,  whose  preciousness  the  de- 
parted Father  so  fully  realised  and  so  ably  proclaimed, 
may  comfort  them  in  their  sorrow,  keep  them  in  his 
love  and  finally  bring  them  in  the  presence  of  the 
excellent  glory,  into  an  unending  association  with  their 
glorious  and  their  glorified  dead. 

This  minute  to  be  entered  on  the  records  of  the 
Session  and  a  copy  sent  to  the  family  and  the  press. 


39 

/vcso/////o//s  of  tJic  Presbytery  of  iVeii'ar/c,  December 
gtJi,   iSSi). 

The  Presbytery  of  Newark,  having  learned  with  pro- 
found sorrow,  that  the  Rev.  Jonathan  F.  Stearns,  D. 
D.,  departed  this  Hfe  at  New  Brunswick,  on  November 
the  eleventh  last,  records  on  its  Minutes  this  tribute  of 
affection  and  respect  to  one  who,  for  forty  years,  was 
an  honored,  influential  and  beloved  member  of  our 
body. 

Dr.  Stearns  came  to  us  in  the  maturity  of  his  man- 
hood and  the  fullness  of  his  powers.  He  discharged 
the  duties  of  his  long  pastorate  in  the  First  Church, 
Newark,  wnth  credit  to  himself  and  to  the  best  interests 
of  that  Church.  In  the  wider  sphere  of  our  denomina- 
tion he  was  recognized  as  a  leader,  as  an  earnest  and 
efficient  promoter  of  many  of  the  most  important 
schemes  of  church-work,  notably  the  Reunion  move- 
ment, on  which  behalf  he  labored  faithfully  and  effi- 
ciently. 

He  was  a  courteous  gentleman,  a  wise  counsellor,  a 
scholarly  minister  and  an  humble  servant  of  the 
Master. 

Having,  with  marked  fidelity  and  devotion,  served 
his  own  generation,  by  the  will  of  God,  he  has  fallen 


40 

on  Sleep,  he  rests  from  his  labors,  but  his  works  do 
follow  him. 

To  his  stricken  children  the  Presbytery  tenders 
heartfelt  and  sincere  sympathy ;  congratulates  them  on 
their  rich  legacy  of  a  father's  memory  and  a  father's 
prayers,  and  commends  them  to  the  loving  care  of 
that  gracious  Master,  to  whom  the  father,  if  living, 
would  direct  them  as  a  very  present  help  in  trouble. 

Wm.    T.    FlNDLEY, 

Stated  Clerk. 


41 

TJic  following  7'csolntioiis  ivcrc  passed  at  iJic  Session 
of  the  First  Pixsbyterian  CJiurcli  of  Ncwbiiryport^ 
MassaeJiusetts  : 

The  Session  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Newburyport,  Mass.,  record  with  profound  sorrow  the 
death  of  Rev.  Jonathan  F.  Stearns,  the  sixth  Pastor 
of  the  church,  who  departed  this  life  at  New  Bruns- 
wick, N.  J.,  on  Monday,  November  nth,  1889. 

Resolved,  That  in  this  sad  dispensation  we  recognize 
the  great  loss  which  the  universal  church  of  Christ  has 
sustained,  deprived  as  it  is  of  a  faithful  minister,  a  good 
man,  and  an  ornament  to  the  Christian  profession. 
We  nevertheless  feel  that  the  stroke  which  has  re- 
moved him  from  the  church  militant  to  the  church 
triumphant,  was  sent  in  love  to  him  and  us  by  our 
Heavenly  Father,  ''for  we  know  that  all  things  work 
together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God."  Therefore 
we  bow  in  submission  to  the  divine  will,  praying  that 
the  mantle  of  the  departed  may  rest  upon  us  who  re- 
main. 

Resolved,  lliat  as  a  church  and  Session,  the  death  of 
our  beloved  Pastor  and  brother  in  the  Lord  calls  us  to 
a  deeper  faith,  a  closer  fellowship  with  Christ,  renewed 


4^ 

efforts  to  build  up  his  cause  in  the  community,  and  an 
earnest  preparation  for  the  summons  that  shall  call  us 
from  labor  on  earth  to  rest  in  Heaven. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  our  sympathies  to  his  be- 
reaved children  to  whom  he  left  the  heritage,  not  only 
of  a  good  name,  but  also  of  a  Christian  life,  ''  full  of 
faith  and  the  Holy  Ghost." 

Resolved,  That  this  action  be  placed  upon  the  records 
of  Session,  and  communicated  to  the  family  of  the 
deceased. 

By  order  of  Session, 

Brevard  D.   SI^XLAIR,  Moderator. 

Wm.   Bailev,  Clerk. 


43 

Resolutions  of  Director's  of  Union  Theological 
Seminai-y. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  Union 
Theoloorical  Seminary,  held  March  nth,  1890,  the 
following  Minute  was  adopted  by  a  unanimous  vote: 

The  Board  of  Directors  of  Union  Theological  Semi- 
nary, having  learned  with  profound  sorrow  that  the 
Rev.  Jonathan  F.  Stearns,  D.  D.,  departed  this  life  at 
New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  on  November  i  ith,  1889,  adopt 
this  Minute  as  a  tribute  of  respect  to  his  memory. 

Dr.  Stearns  was  born  at  Bedford,  Mass.,  on  Sep- 
tember 4th,  1808.  His  preparatory  studies  were  pur- 
sued at  Phillips  Academy,  Andover;  he  was  graduated 
by  Harvard  College,  with  high  honors,  in  1830;  he 
studied  Theology,  partly  at  Andover  Seminary  and 
partly  under  the  private  direction  of  his  father;  was 
licensed  to  preach  October,  1834,  by  the  Woburn 
Association  of  Massachusetts,  and  was  ordained  and 
installed  Pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  New- 
buryport,  Mass.,  on  September  i6th,  1835,  by  the 
Presbytery  of  Londonderry.  After  a  successful  pastor- 
ate of  fourteen  years,  he  accepted  the  call  of  the  First 
Church,  Newark,  was  installed  December  13th,  1849, 
served  as  Pastor  for  thirty-four  years,  when  compelled 


44 

by  the  infirmities  of  age  to  resign  a  position  which  he 
had  long  adorned,  he  was  made  Pastor  Emeritus,  and 
sustained  this  relation  up  to  the  day  of  his  death,  a 
period  of  seven  years,  his  connection  with  the  church 
covering  almost  forty-one  years. 

And  his  relation  to  this  Seminary  was  almost  synch- 
ronous with  that  of  his  relation  to  the  First  Church, 
Newark.  In  1850,  Dr.  Stearns,  then  in  the  full 
maturity  of  his  powers,  was  elected  a  member  of  this 
Board,  devoted  himself  enthusiastically  to  the  advance- 
ment of  the  best  interests  of  the  Seminary,  rendered 
faithful  and  efficient  service  for  nearly  two  score  years 
and  ended  his  official  relation  only  when  disease  made 
him  incompetent  to  serve.  He  was  one  of  the  prompt, 
regular  and  diligent  attendants  upon  the  business  meet- 
ings of  the  Board.  He  was  a  wise  counsellor,  being 
singularly  free,  alike  from  that  abnormal  conservatism 
which  refuses  to  recognise  the  exigencies  of  the  present 
and  from  that  excessive  radicalism  which  insists  upon 
repudiating  the  past,  simply  because  it  is  past. 

By  reason  of  his  long  and  intimate  acquaintance  with 
the  men,  he  was  able  to  render  and  did  render  distin- 
guished service  in  securing  the  invaluable  services  of 
Heniy  B.  Smith  and  Roswell  D.  Hitchcock  to  this 
institution. 


45 

He  was  a  man  of  stron^^  mind,  lar^^c  culture,  broad 
views,  warm  sympathies  and  courtly  manners.  In  a 
word  an  ideal  Christian  gentleman. 

With  gratitude  to  God  that  He  gave  and  so  long 
spared  Dr.  Stearns  to  us  we  record  this  Minute  as  an 
expression  of  the  respect  which  we  have  long  cherished 
for  the  man,  as  an  exponent  of  our  high  appreciation 
of  the  zeal  and  the  fidelity  with  which  for  thirty-eight 
years  he  discharged  the  duty  of  a  Director  and  also  as  an 
embodiment  of  our  sympathy  for  those  who  mourn  a 
Father  beloved,  and  whom  we  tenderly  commit  and 
commend  to  the  all  sufficient  grace  of  the  Great  and 
Gracious  Father  above. 

E.    M.    KiNGSLEY, 

Recorder, 


46 

Resolutions  of  the  Board  of  Home  Missiofis. 

Rev.  Jonathan  F.  Stearns,  D.  D.,  died  November 
I  ith,  1889,  in  the  eighty-second  year  of  his  age,  at  the 
home  of  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Austin  Scott,  New  Bruns- 
wick, N.  J.  Dr.  Stearns  was  for  over  thirty  years  an 
active  Pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Newark,  N.  J.,  and  during  the  active  part  of  his  Hfe 
held  a  high  position  in  the  church.  In  1868  he  was 
Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  (New  School)  at  Pittsburg.  He  was 
very  active  in  bringing  about  the  union  of  the  Old  and 
New  School  branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and 
made  one  of  the  principal  addresses  on  that  occasion. 
But  during  those  years  he  was  conspicuously  connected 
with  the  history  and  work  of  Home  Missions.  He  was 
one  of  a  strong  committee  appointed  by  the  General 
Assembly  to  adjust  certain  differences  of  opinion  that 
had  arisen  between  the  Presbyterians  and  the  Congre- 
gationahsts  with  regard  to  the  administration  of  the 
affairs  of  the  American  Home  Missionary  Society. 
The  committee  was  not  successful,  and  in  1855  the 
General  Assembly  appointed  the  Church  Extension 
Committee,  of  which  Dr.  Stearns  was  an  active  mem- 
ber for  six  years,  when  in  1 86 1   the  General  Assembly 


47 

resumed  the  whole  responsibility  of  conducting  the 
work  of  Home  Missions  within  its  bounds,  dissolved  the 
Church  Extension  Committee  as  no  longer  necessary, 
and  constituted  the  Presbyterian  Committee  of  Home 
Missions.  Of  that  committee  he  was  a  member  from 
the  first  day  of  its  existence  until  it  was  superseded  by 
the  organization  of  the  present  Board  of  Home  Mis- 
sions at  reunion.  Of  that  Board  he  was  also  one  of 
the  original  members,  holding  his  place  then  till  the 
growing  infirmities  of  life  made  it  impossible  for  him 
to  attend  its  meetings.  For  fully  thirty  years  from 
1855  he  had  borne  a  conspicuous  part  in  all  matters 
pertaining  to  the  work  of  Home  Missions.  Clear  in 
his  judgments,  courteous  and  Christian  in  all  his  inter- 
course with  men,  he  was  a  most  valuable  member  of 
the  Committee  of  Home  Missions  and  more  lately  of 
the  present  Board  of  Home  Missions. 

This  Minute,  as  above  stated,  was  adopted  by  the 
Board  of  Home  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
in  the  United  States  of  America,  at  its  regular  meet- 
ing, held  December  24th,  1889,  and  a  copy  directed  to 
be  sent  to  the  family. 

John   Hall,  President. 

H.    Kendall,  |  Corresp07iding 
Wm.  Irvin,       j  Secretaries, 


A  jnzi  Pier  soil  &^  Co., 

Printers  and  Stationers, 

30  Clinton  St., 

Newark,  New  Jersey. 


